Chapter 5 Meetings (Two)

• Granted, it had been a contract marriage which his uncle had insisted upon in exchange for using his resources to find me. But then, Sebastian had fallen in love with Carol, and my heart had been shattered. No, I wasn’t giving love a chance anytime soon.
• “You should ride with Maxwell. He’s on his way to the airport.” Sebastian is saying, referring to the stranger, who was his business associate.
• “Yes. I can drop you off. It’s not a problem at all.” Maxwell says eagerly. I peer at him, not liking what I see in the least. He looks like he’s interested in me, which is the last thing I need right now, or for some time to come, for that matter.
• “Or one of the drivers can take you if you’d rather not,” Sebastian says again, probably sensing my reluctance.
• “No, it’s fine. Thanks for the offer.” I decide since I don’t want to come off as rude.
• “I’m so sorry for what happened to you,” Maxwell tells me on our way to the airport.
• “Thanks.”
• “I’m glad you’re getting better. I want to invite you on a boat cruise organized by one of Sebastian’s companies. It’s going to be fun-filled. Sebastian can’t make it because he’s going on his honeymoon, so I’m going to be in charge of everything. You should come, Jessica.”
• “Sure,” I reply rigidly, just to stop him from talking. I don’t like the fact that so many people, even people I don’t know, know my business. Maxwell and I exchange numbers and he promises to send me the details of the whole thing, which he does that very day. I do not reply, because I don’t intend to go on a cruise, and certainly not one with Maxwell and his very interested eyes.
• After a few days locked up in the mansion that Sebastian had bought for me in exchange for the one which we had jointly owned, I start to feel stifled and bored. At the last minute, I decide to go on the cruise, after all. Maybe mingling with other people, apart from my housekeeper wouldn’t be so bad, after all, I reason.
• The first day is uneventful, and I spend it holed up in my cabin, after declining Maxwell’s invitation for me to come to spend some time with other people. By the evening of the second day, however, I decide to go on deck so I can see the sunset at least, and maybe spend some time, however little, in the company of others, apart from myself.
• As I approach the deck, I realize that there is a broad-shouldered and tall man leaning against it. I pause, planning to beat a hasty retreat, and already going back on my earlier decision to make chit-chat with strangers. There is something vaguely familiar about this man, which makes it all the more imperative for him not to notice me. I begin to tiptoe back the way that I had come, trying not to make a sound, and I didn’t make any sound, but the man must have sensed someone’s presence because he turned and caught me tiptoeing away.
• “Oh, for fuck’s sake! You gotta be kidding me!” I exclaim when I realize exactly who it is. I’m stuck on a goddamn cruise ship with the very same man I’ve been avoiding.